In April 47,250 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the state of California. That's down from 54,500 in March which is a drop of 13.3%. April of 2005 was one of the strongest months for real estate in California's history. What a difference a year makes. Sales were down 21% from last April. Even though sales were down, prices were not.
2) Don't Buy With Out Getting an Inspection: An inspection can reveal problems that you can not see or have even thought about. If there are not so obvious issues as foundation problems, system wiring or plumbing problems, wouldn't you want to know that before closing on that property? Of course. And the inspection may indicate that the property you are interested in purchasing has only minor issues and is a worthwhile project. Be sure you attend when the inspection is made. You are going to pay several hundred dollars for the service.. you will definitely learn some things about construction and renovation if you just listen and observe.
Many times a seller will select a broker based upon a referral. That is fine as long as that broker is experienced in your market and is not the husband or wife of friends who just entered the real estate in Marbella. estate profession. Stay away from that! As much as you would like to help friends out, why would you screw around with your major investment in the hands of an amateur?
The buzz real estate development. about the iPad has been nothing short of astonishing. Apple has introduced an entirely new product category based on a deep understanding of the needs of their primary target market. Why buy an inferior net book computer and/or an e-book reader when you can essentially have both, plus much, much more for less money?
Sugarloaf Foreclosures - The latest Foreclosure report shows 9 Sugarloaf homes that were given "notices of foreclosure" for the January 6th auction. Yes, there are a couple of well-known names on that list. This level of foreclosures is significantly higher than the 2-3 per month that we have seen throughout the year. In addition there are major builders of new homes in real estate company or service. Sugarloaf that had construction loans foreclosed upon by their banks. In 2008, there have been over 40 properties that have been given notices of foreclosure. There are currently 23 properties that are in some active form of foreclosure (from pre-foreclosure to bank-owned status).
I would leave those renovations to the expert investors or the true palacetes de banus contractor investors. Also, you usually only find investors doing these type renovations in the higher end homes and neighborhoods. This is because adding larger room additions and changing the original layout of the house can be recouped with the higher selling prices. And even at that, you will usually only find these being done in pricier neighborhoods.
What may be most surprising to some is perception vs. reality in several price categories for luxury homes. From $500,000 to $600,000 there are less than 5 months of inventory and between $800,000 and $900,000, there is 4.7 months of inventory. While the news makes many feel that sellers of luxury homes will have to wait eons to sell their real estate, the numbers in these price points suggest otherwise.
If you want your luxury real estate personal or company brand to stand for something, make sure it is something that your competition cannot also stand for or own. Then, get your messaging on target. Otherwise, you will defeat the entire purpose of branding: "Top of Mind" in a specific category or niche.